Strawberries have a flavor like no other fruit. Their sweet yet slightly tangy taste makes them a favorite ingredient in a range of culinary creations. The tartness of strawberries is an important element of their flavor profile that should not be overlooked. It adds a refreshing twist to the sweetness of the fruit and can be enhanced with a variety of complementary flavors.
Dates are not the first thing that comes to mind to be paired with strawberries. But strangely enough the sweetness of dates pairs beautifully with the bright, juicy flavor of strawberries which makes this combination a winner.
Today, I’m featuring some mini pastry pockets spread with a strawberry-date ‘jam’ then topped with fresh, sliced strawberries. These golden, crispy treats are a celebration of spring and summer flavor!
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Ingredients
Pastry
- 3 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp golden yellow sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup ice water
Filling
- 78 gm (1/2 cup) pitted dates, roughly chopped in small pieces
- boiling water
- 648 gm (4 1/2 cups) strawberries, washed & hulled, DIVIDED
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, DIVIDED
- 2 Tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp lime zest, finely grated
Ingredients
Pastry
Filling
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Instructions
Pastry
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with the golden yellow sugar, white sugar & salt until well blended. Place into the freezer to chill; 5 minutes.
- Add the cold, cubed butter into the chilled dry ingredients. Toss to coat butter with the flour. With a pastry blender (or with your fingertips), work quickly to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse sand with some pea-sized pieces scattered throughout.
- Add the ice water, gently tossing the flour-butter mixture with the water until no water remains. Once this occurs, squeeze the dough together with your hands. If you find that the dough isn’t coming together, add another tablespoon of ice water to the dough until the dough just comes together.
- When the dough starts coming together, transfer the mixture onto a flat work surface and begin squeezing the dough by pushing the dough together towards the middle. Gently pat the dough into a disc, divide in half, reshape into two discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Place dough into the fridge to chill & to allow the dough to relax; 1 hour to overnight.
Filling
- Place chopped dates in a heat-proof bowl & add enough boiling water to cover. Allow to soften; 10 minutes. Drain & discard water.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine 2 cups (288 grams) of roughly chopped strawberries, dates, ¼ cup (54 grams) of the dark brown sugar & lime juice. Using a food processor, process until smooth.
- Place mixture over medium-high heat & bring to a boil while constantly stirring to ensure fruit does not burn. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the strawberry-date jam is thickened; 20 minutes. The spread should be thick enough that when a spatula is run across the bottom of the pot, the trail/bottom of the pot should be visible for several seconds before slowly coming together again. Remove from heat & transfer to a dish to cool completely.
Assembly & Baking
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- After the pastry has chilled, remove from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured work surface or parchment paper. Lightly dust the surface of the dough with more flour (place a second piece of parchment over the dough if rolling between parchment paper sheets) & begin rolling the dough. Working from the center outwards, roll the dough to a ¼- to ⅛-inch thickness. Ensure dough is not sticking to the work surface.
- With a 6-inch round cutter cut out 9 pieces. Scraps can be rerolled & cut out again, though the resulting dough will be slightly tougher.
- With a sharp paring knife, cut each round in half. Place the 18 half discs onto the prepared baking sheets & into the fridge to chill while preparing the remaining strawberries.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, tapioca starch & salt until thoroughly combined. Slice the remaining strawberries into rounds or thin slices. Transfer to a bowl.
- Remove the pastry discs from the fridge. Place about 2 teaspoons of the cooled strawberry-date spread into the center of each half-round until it is all evenly divided. Spread the mixture, leaving about ½-inch of untouched dough around the filling.
- Sprinkle the sugar/starch mixture over the sliced strawberries. Sprinkle in the lime zest. Toss strawberries until evenly coated.
- Divide & overlap strawberries on the spread. With a small pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the half discs with water. Starting on the straight edge, fold the dough over the edge of the filling. Press down on the two “points” sealing the dough over the strawberries. Starting from one of the points, fold & press the edge towards the center of the 'pocket'. When you reach the top of the arc, start at the other point until you meet at the top. Repeat process with remaining pockets. Shape and 'bend' dough into a crescent moon shape. Place pockets into the fridge to chill; at least 10 minutes.
- Remove chilled pockets from the fridge. Place the pockets into the preheated oven. Immediately lower temperature to 400 F. Bake until pockets are deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling; 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove and allow pockets to cool on the pan on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes before transferring to a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
• Make the pastry the day before for ease of rolling & reduce preparation time. The filling can also be made the day before, or a few hours before assembly.
